Skip to content

damot

damót with stress marks

selfishness

noun adjective da-MOT Native origin Less Common

Usage Note

Damot is the quality of being stingy and unwilling to share — a trait strongly disapproved of in Filipino communal culture where generosity (kagandahang-loob) is highly valued. Calling someone 'madamot' is a pointed social criticism. It applies to material things but also to time, effort, and affection.

Examples

Beginner

" Huwag kang madamot. "

Natural Translation

Don't be selfish.

Literal Translation

Don't you selfish.

Intermediate

" Alisin mo ang damot sa puso. "

Natural Translation

Remove the selfishness from your heart.

Literal Translation

Remove you the selfishness in heart.

Advanced

" Kahit kakaunti lang ang kanyang pagkain, hindi siya nagpakita ng damot at ibinahagi pa niya iyon. "

Natural Translation

Even though he had only a little food, he showed no selfishness and even shared it.

Literal Translation

Even little only the his food, not he showed of selfishness and shared even he that.

Free · iOS & Android

Take Tagalog with you

The full course, a 12,500-word dictionary, and flashcards that make every word stick — free to start on iOS and Android.

Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.

How Tagalog words work

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.